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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22950064">homecoming.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunbeans/pseuds/sunbeans'>sunbeans</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>bloom. [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ben Loves His Grandma, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Everyone's alive, F/M, Florist Ben, Mechanic Rey, Modern AU, Rey Kenobi, Rey Kenobody, Reylo - Freeform, Soft Ben Solo, he's tall and soft and HURTING, in this house i love padme, in which ben organa-solo is a hopeless romantic, mentions of finnpoerose and jannah/kaydel, mostly ben pov, rey's a kenobi/nobody</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:21:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,054</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22950064</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunbeans/pseuds/sunbeans</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The shop looks exactly how he remembers, even if the faces have changed. </p><p>---</p><p>oneshot for my epistolary, bloom! read it before this fic! link in description &lt;3</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Rey &amp; Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>bloom. [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1649344</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>homecoming.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey guys! This is a oneshot update for my epistolary, Bloom! I recommend reading it, so you're all caught up!<br/>https://twitter.com/sunbeanery/status/1233530002823663616</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The shop looks just like he remembers.</p><p>Ben squints against the afternoon sun as he looks at the old building -- evergreen and gold, with the same sign hanging above the doorway. There's plants in the window, as always, arranged with the hand of an expert. Idly, he wonders if his grandma made it, or if she had help. Andromeda noses against him -- a silent reminder that she's still here, to ground him. At least it's not busy right now --- Ben isn't sure he could handle the crowds today.</p><p>As if the mere thought summons her, Padme Amidala bursts through the doors, regal as ever as her lips pull into a thin line. Silence claims the pair for a moment --- he doesn't remember her being so <em>small, </em>or the new laugh lines that litter her face, and he doesn't remember being able to touch the door frame.  The silence is inevitably broken, however, as Padme's commanding voice rings out:</p><p>"<em>Benjamin Chewbacca Bail Amidala-Skywalker-Organa-Solo, where's my hug?!</em>" </p><p>Of <em>course </em>she gets her hug, even if he has to fold himself in half to do it, and of <em>course </em>he meets Rose and Jannah, and of <em>course </em>they all <em>have</em> to sit down and take their lunch together, because <em>it'd be absolute nonsense for them to work while she socializes</em>. And of <em>course</em>, Ben smiles for what feels like the first time in forever, being lead around the shop by one of his favorite people on Earth as she shoos all the customers out with the grace &amp; efficacy of a queen. </p><p>"Rose has been working here for a few years," Padme tells him later, between sips of tea, "and her attention to detail is <em>marvelous. </em>The place would've fallen apart ages ago without her. And Jannah is Lando's girl--- you remember her, don't you?"</p><p>"'Course I remember her. How's it going, cousin?" The Skywalkers weren't just blood family, of course --- family included Uncle Lando, Han's best friend ( and ex ) that definitely <em>didn't </em>need to cheat at poker to beat him, and the Kenobis, with Old Ben and Satine, their families stitched together so tightly that you couldn't tell otherwise. The endearment comes so easily, and Jannah's toothy smile is returned just as quickly. </p><p>"Not bad, Beanstalk. Heard you were moving back to help out!" She leans back in her chair with all the swagger of her father, even with the flour on her apron and earth caking her warm, calloused hands. "Maybe you can be best man at my wedding, yeah?"</p><p>"What? That's amazing--- who's the lucky girl?" He pushes aside his feelings, how his stomach churns at the thought of <em>weddings </em>and his grandmother's ring--- now strung around his neck, branding him like a hot iron. Jannah, to her credit, doesn't comment on her cousin's behavior, grinning as she gets out her phone and shows him <em>Kaydel,  </em>brimming with happiness and radiating <em>love, love, love </em>as she tells him stories of how they met.</p><p>The other girl-- Rose, laughs gently and taps Jannah's shoulder, who smiles sheepishly at her friend. "Hey, Jan? Your coffee's getting cold."</p><p>"Sorry, it's just--- <em>ugh, </em>I love my girl so much!" The cocky posture is broken, Jannah scrunching her nose in a blinding smile as Ben nods sagely. "I'm happy for you, Jan. Really, you deserve it."</p><p>"Thanks, Ben. You always know what to say, don't ya big guy?"</p><p>Rose is next --- and he's surprised to learn that one of her partners is<em> Poe fucking Dameron</em>, before the entire table recounts far too many embarrassing stories about him, about Ben, about each other to count.</p><p>It's strange, he thinks, as he finishes moving what little he brought with him into the old upstairs apartment, and he can't place his finger on why.</p><p>( That night, as Andromeda curls into his side, Ben can't remember the last time he's felt so happy. )</p><hr/><p>Rey's running late.</p><p>Even as she kicks her bike on, lunch &amp; breakfast stowed in the storage box, she can't help but worry that she's <em>late, she's gonna get fired, and even if Han and Chewie wouldn't do that to her---</em></p><p>Of course, halfway to the shop, she remembers that the shop's closed today -- but by the time she realizes it, she's outside Amidala's.</p><p>She's heard a lot about Han's son--- <em>Ben, </em>her mind supplies, as she parks her bike and kills the engine, --- enough to have a vague idea of what he's like. Wild, reckless, hungry for approval, but still endlessly adoring of his parents, even if they weren't always around. ( The regret they feel is palpable --- the sadness that invades the corner of Leia's eyes as she cuts apples for her infamous pie, or the way Han's smirk fades &amp; his voice softens <em>ever so slightly </em>as he talks about <em>his boy, his son</em>. ) And he <em>was</em> loved, even if they weren't around.</p><p>It's kind of strange, knowing he's somewhere in town --- Takodana is a small town, and Rey can't help but wonder why she hasn't run into him yet. But she's certainly <em>heard </em>about him, in the hushed whispers of the little old ladies, the reminiscing young adults, the gossip of women of how <em>dorky </em>he was,<em> with those huge ears!</em></p><p>She's not sure why, but something's telling her to go into the shop today. Maybe it's how she wants a few new succulents in her apartment, and there's a few in the windowsill that look <em>just right, </em>or the scent of coffee and pastries, or the craving for a good book. Han <em>did </em>give her a day off --- with <em>pay, </em>even when she tried to tell Chewie to keep it. ( It took her a few months to understand his gruff, soft-spoken voice, but she learned. ) Old man Luke at the local health &amp; wellness center would probably say it's the Force pulling her, with a twinkle in his eye and a slight smile, full of wisdom. Rey doesn't know what to call it, but won't make the leap to cosmic forces <em>just yet.</em></p><p>Her day, however, takes a sharp turn for the worse when she enters the shop, running headfirst into what she can only <em>guess </em>is a brick fucking wall.</p><p>It's made a little better when said <em>brick fucking wall </em>immediately moves to catch her before she can land flat on her ass, and a <em>little worse </em>when accompanied by the cacophony of shattered pots.</p><hr/><p>It's his first day of work, and Ben's already ran into several bouts of bad luck.</p><p>He's been itching to do something, <em>anything </em>since he quit his soul-sucking<em> corporate nightmare</em> of a hell job at First Order Inc., stuck filing papers while the higher-ups got to ham it up on Wall Street. It wasn't terrible -- he worked his way up, and was earning six figures in his early 20s --- but it wasn't what he wanted to <em>do.</em></p><p>Still, as eager as he is to get back to work, it doesn't change the series of disasters that followed him this morning. Not <em>only </em>did he burn an entire batch of croissants, he put salt in one of the pies ( he swears up and down it's because the sugar &amp; salt labels were facing away from him ) and he spilled coffee on a customer.</p><p>The succulents that are cradled in his arms have suffered with him --- he nearly drowned one of them, and broke the pots of the other two, and they <em>still haven't reached the window. </em>The familiar spike in his chest signals an incoming anxiety attack, and Ben has to ignore it. If he can just make it to the windows and arrange the succulents, he can go prune the roses in the greenhouse---</p><p>---that is, until he registers that he walked directly into someone.</p><p>Ben's never been good at rational thought --- he's too impulsive, leaps in head-first and throwing consequence to the wind. He's all or nothing--- <em>Ben Organa-Solo, the boy with his heart on his sleeve</em> --- and that's just the person he is. </p><p>It can only explain why he drops all three succulents in favor for the girl he walked into ( or did she walk into him? ) earth-stained fingertips catching her wrist &amp; waist in the world's most awkward dip. </p><p>Her freckles are the first thing he notices, mind spinning as it tries to count, then connect, then make constellations of them --- galaxies splattered across her face &amp; under her hazel eyes, reflecting the green around them. Her hair is messy -- chestnut waves flying every which way &amp; haloed in the afternoon sun, and Ben almost forgets about the pots in favor of <em>her---</em></p><p>Right. Words. Words are a thing he needs to do,<em> with his mouth</em>, specifically.</p><p>"Are you okay--"</p><p>"<strong><em>Oh my God, your plants</em><em>!</em></strong>"</p><p>Ben blinks twice as her accent fills his ears -- London? No, not quite --- as she breaks the silence between them. And Ben swears he does his best to right her before she tears from his grip, crouching as her eyes fall to----</p><p>The succulents.</p><p>The <em>goddamn succulents. </em></p><p>The <em>goddamn motherfucking succulents that he's dropped for a second time today.</em></p><p>Ben can feel a vein bulging in his otherwise heated face, forcing himself to shove whatever anger &amp; self-loathing he has to the background before kneeling to help. "Sorry--- are you okay?"</p><p>"Am <em>I</em> okay? Are <strong><em>you </em></strong>okay?!" The girl talks faster -- is she nervous? --- and Ben, strangely, doesn't struggle to keep up. "And the succulents --- I'm <em>so sorry,</em> I didn't mean to break them! Are they going to be okay? Oh my God, the pots are broken---"</p><p>"Hey, hey, <em>breathe! </em>It's fine," he tries to tell her -- ironic, coming from him, - as he grasps two of them in his hands. "I've dropped these suckers once today, and if you could do me a favor and pick up number three, I'll prove that they'll be fine." </p><p>Her eyes hold unshed tears, and her face is red, but she agrees --- and the succulents are taken to the potting room. Ben puts them on a counter, gesturing for the third, before taking all three into the back. He repots them in record time, making sure the roots aren't damaged &amp; draining the soil properly. He likes to imagine that <em>this is it, there are lives on the line, and these succulents have a family to go home to, </em>just to pass the time &amp; speed his fingers in the quiet. He can't help the <em>pride </em>he feels when he re-emerges from the back with all three, &amp; the relief that washes over the biker girl's face. </p><p>"See? Good as new."</p><p>The girl exhales --- and strangely, she follows him as he cleans up the dirt &amp; potting shards, insistent on helping. </p><p>"You're with the Resistance?" He's really, <em>really </em>fucking bad at small talk --- strangely, now more than ever as his heart hammers in his throat.</p><p>"Yeah! We have meetings down at Maz's every Sunday --- and, uh, despite what everyone says, we're not... y'know, <em>violent.</em>"</p><p>He can't help but laugh --- his <em>parents </em>were in the Resistance, for fuck's sake, protesting on their bikes back in the day, and Ben has to stop himself. "Sorry--- I wasn't laughing at you, I swear. I know you guys aren't violent -- I can't imagine my dad hurting a fly."</p><p>"Your dad?" Her attention is torn from the shards of pottery, a brow raised at his confession.</p><p>"My parents," he clarified, "and my <em>mom's</em> the one I'd worry about." </p><p>Her laugh is sudden, but it fills the room --- bright &amp; burning and <em>blooming, </em>filling every space of his chest like the afternoon sun.</p><p>It's only later, after he helps her secure the succulents on her bike ( free of charge ) and the books she bought that Ben thinks to give her his name.</p><p>"I'm Ben, by the way," he offers hesitantly, Andromeda nestled into his side as she carries the basket of succulents in her jaw. "And, uh, this is Andromeda." </p><p>The sunshine girl laughs, bending down to accept the basket with a gentle <em>good girl, </em>but refraining from anything more when she spots her bright jacket.  "I'm Rey," she tells him, as something plants in his heart &amp; makes his breath <em>hitch,</em> "and I promise I won't drop the succulents again."</p><p>( That night, Ben can't stop thinking about her --- face red as he tries to connect the constellations splayed on her face with the sun burning behind her. The ring hangs heavy, but burns a little less. )</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>it's 1am, i've been writing nonstop, i was too impatient to hear back from my beta, and my teeth have rotted from my own fluff.<br/>no regrets though GHFDKLJHFG</p><p>find me on @sunbeanery on twitter, and follow the fic here: https://twitter.com/sunbeanery/status/1233530002823663616<br/>have a lovely day, and thank you for reading! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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